Sweet Disposition
by Cheyennebrooke
Summary: I felt my heart thump against my rib cage as I took in his deep brown eyes. His eyes kept my entire focus as he smiled brightly at me before Bella's scream interrupted our moment. I watched as he took off to try and help Bella while I held my chest, trying to figure out what just happened.
1. Preface

I had a plan.

I never had a _good_ plan, but it was a plan. I was going to graduate with high honors, and go to college to become a Nurse. I wanted to help. I know that I could never actually deal with the sight of blood- one thing me and my sister actually had in common- that's why I wanted to become a certified Neonatal Nurse; a nurse that takes care of babies. I've grown up with babysitting jobs and I never loved anything more.

So, I had a plan. But plans never actually go through, especially not for us Swans'. Nothing ever seemed to go right for us. I couldn't help but think of how different my life would have been if I didn't move back to Forks, Washington. Though, I couldn't bring myself to regret any of the decisions that I've made. I never would have made more friends. I never would have become closer to my family. I never would have met Jacob- never would have fallen in _love_ with Jacob. Though, I never would have experienced so much pain and loss. So much confusion and grief. So much anger. I probably would have been the same ignorant girl that had a _plan_.

So when I stand in front of my large family, all saying their goodbyes, I couldn't imagine my life without any of these people. I looked down as I felt a tug on my sweatshirt. I smiled softly at the source of the tug. "We'll be okay, right?" She muttered looking up at me for guidance. I couldn't image telling the truth to her. Maybe it was because I couldn't face the facts myself that everyone might not make it home tomorrow night. Someone that I loved in this room could die tomorrow.

It seemed that everyone else was interested in my answer as well, as the whole room started getting quiet and looked down at the light in the room. I tried biting the inside of my cheek to stop the tears from resurfacing, I'm done with crying. I needed to be strong for the both of us.

"We'll be okay."


	2. Home, Sweet Home

I sat waiting for the loud announcement that we now landed in Seattle, Washington before getting off the blue plane seat. I followed the stream of people out of the plane carefully taking in my surroundings. I haven't been in Washington since I was thirteen years old. It partly wasn't my fault. Bella didn't want to come up here anymore, she'd rather have dad come up to Arizona, which he did to see us. Imagine the looks on everyone's faces when Bella said she wanted to move in with dad and I wanted to travel more. They definitely didn't expect it, especially since I did miss everything that was here, greatly so. I missed the rain and the peaceful nights. I missed my long hikes in the woods with my old friends.

So when dad called me one night, pleading with me to come and help him with Bella, I couldn't say yes faster. I always had intentions of moving back in with my father, I just never got to the chance. I was too busy on the road with mom and Phil. But now I had the chance to move in with my dad.

My mom helped me pack everything up, crying about how her last baby was moving away. I couldn't tell you how many times I've stopped packing up my things to hug my mom and try to calm her down with a promise to always keep in touch. She accepted my promise before wiping her eyes and finishing with my packing. We finished in two days and shipped everything immediately. I wanted everything there when I got there in the following week.

My dad had told me that everything was set up, and I was going to be sleeping in my own part of the house downstairs- it used to be an office before dad remodeled it for me. I thanked him graciously, getting more excited about the fact that I was going home.

"Jules." I looked up at my name being called to see my dad standing around with his hands in his pockets. He must have just gotten off work because he was still in his work uniform.

I smiled as I realized that I missed my dad. I haven't been down to visit and he hasn't come up to Arizona, it's been a while since I've actually seen him. I walked up to him before shoving my arms around his waist. I knew that he wasn't a very emotional guy, but I couldn't wait to smell the familiarity of him- the gun power and outdoorsy scent that lingered on everything in the house. I sighed in dad's arms as I felt complete finally.

I pulled away after a few moments relishing in his hug before smiling up at him.

"How'd your trip go?" He asked as he picked up one of my suitcases by my feet. I grabbed the last one before following him outside.

"Not bad. Long and tiring though." I answered truthfully before smiling softly at the cruiser outside of the airport. When I said I missed everything about Washington, I meant everything.

Dad nodded his head, "Bella's been at school. She doesn't know your plane landed today."

I gave him a small smile, "So, I'm kinda like a surprise."

"Yeah, you can say that."

We packed all the last of my belongings in the back of the cruiser before piling in and heading home. I felt myself get more excited as we passed familiar sightings. It's been 6 years since I've really been up here, and I still remember what everything looks like. It was incredible.

"You cut your hair." Dad mentioned trying to clear the silence. I smiled at his effort before answering him.

"It was almost to my belly button, it needed a trim." I answered looking down at my chest length hair. I had my dad's hair and my mom's eyes, while Bella got my mom's hair and dad's eyes. We were supposed to be twins, but we almost looked nothing alike. We were the same personality, but polar opposite looks.

"I like the length." Dad said clearing his throat awkwardly.

I smiled at him none-the-less, "Thanks, dad."

* * *

The ride was pretty much silent after that, my father was a man of a few words, but I didn't mind it so much. I appreciated the silence since I wanted to try and absorb everything I could. I smiled to myself when I saw us pass the _Welcome To Forks_ sign.

Nothing around town was any different. Everything was just like I remembered, and that made me grateful. I didn't want to miss too much in my absence. The towns people were all out walking around, since it was actually a nice day to be out in Forks. I smiled at the small family owned shops as we stopped at a stop sign before continuing. I couldn't wait til I was able to explore this town again.

It wasn't long til we pulled into the same white house that I remembered from my childhood. I smiled at the two story building as we pulled to a stop. Everything was, again, the same. The same white painting, the same green finish. It all reminded me of home.

"You gonna sit in there all day?" I heard my dad call as he walked up to the front of the house, three suitcases already in his hands. I smiled before following after him, quickly grabbing the last of my suitcases.

I followed my dad through the house- even if I knew where everything was. I wanted him to show me my new room. I was excited that I got my room downstairs, it meant more privacy.

We walked into my new room and I smiled with appreciation. It was almost exactly like my old room in Jacksonville with mom and Phil. "Sue Clearwater helped me try and get it the same way that you're used to. Your mom sent pictures." Charlie explained, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I love it, thank you."

He nodded his head before leaving me to my own thoughts. I moved all my suitcases into the corner of the room before jumping on top of my bed. I turned my head and looked out the window right at the edge of my bed. I smiled as I got a good view of the forest. Everything about the forest called to me, I was so in love with the sights. I could get lost in the woods for hours, but I always found my way out- unlike my twin.

I laid down and looked at the ceiling of my bedroom as I thought about Bella. Dad said that she wasn't herself and that I shouldn't be too surprised if she doesn't act as excited as she should seeing me. He also said that she needed a lot of help getting back to herself. That's why I was here. I couldn't let my sister suffer. I unzipped my sweatshirt before placing it in the empty closest. The only things I brought with me onto the plane were my clothes. I thought about unpacking today but thought better of it. It was Thursday right now, and I had until Monday to go back to school, so I had plenty of time to unpack within the next couple of days.

I heard the front door open and close as I listened to soft padded feet walk around the house. I can only think this to be Bella. I bit my smile down as I heard my dad greet Bella with his usual gruffly voice. "I picked something up for you." Dad said and I knew that was my cue to come out of my room.

I followed the voices into the living room, "More like someone." I corrected smiling over at my dad before looking at Bella. Dad was right when he said that Bella didn't look like herself. She looked like she hadn't slept in months, and her clothes were baggy on her, making me believe that she was malnourished. Her, once full of life, brown eyes were now dull with an infinite pain. I almost cringed at the sight of my sister but I held it in as I gave her a short smile, "Hey, Bella."

She just continued looking at me for a while, and I was starting to think that she was upset at the fact that I'm here. I quickly shoved that idea in the back of my head as I felt Bella's scrawny arms wrap around my neck tightly. I held her take in a shaky breath as she shoved her face into my hair. I smiled gently at my dad letting him know that I got everything under control. He nodded his head before sitting down on the couch and going to watch the game.

"Come on, Bella. Let's go into my room." I took her arms off my neck and she agreed unwillingly. I held onto her hand as I led her into the dining room before opening the door to my room. It was right behind the stairs, the only complaint that I have about it. I would have to hear people moving up and down the stairs all day. I pulled Bella onto the bed as I let her think of her words. She seemed to be in a dream world, almost like she was never really with us. Her eyes kept gazing over, and I kept thinking that she was going to cry, but she would snap out of the dreamlike state before looking at me and returning. She continued to do this for another three times before I spoke up, "How are you really, Bella?"

She finally looked at me with un-glazed eyes, "I'm fine."

Even when she said the words, I could tell that she didn't really believe them herself. I sighed as I realized that I was going to work extra hard to get Bella to open up a little.

"How are you here?" Bella asked.

"Dad called." I answered bringing my feet upon the bed and crossing my legs underneath me. "Said you needed some help getting better."

Bella looked away from my wondering stare, "He's overreacting."

"Is he?" I questioned but I didn't get an answer, not that I thought I was going to. "You look like hell, Bella."

She glanced over at me, turning her head to the left. "I'm trying Julie, I just don't know what else to do."

I bit my lip looking at her. I was never in a situation this bad, I had no idea how to actually get through it. "I know." I finally muttered under my breath. It was quiet between us, but I feel like ever since he's left her, it's nothing but silence from Bella. "I think you need a girls night." I smiled softly up at her.

Bella stayed quiet before shrugging her shoulders, "I'll think about it."

That's probably as much as I was going to get out of her. "Maybe we can go see a movie or something."

"I don't even know what's playing." Bella admitted. She almost sounded embarrassed, but it was hard to pin-point emotions from Bella.

I bit my lip again, "Really?"

"Really."

I brought my knees up to my chest, lightly wrapping my arms around them. I couldn't believe that this was my sister from months ago. She used to be so full of life, and she used to take care of me and mom all the time. I was always the reckless one. I was the one that needed help getting back up when I fell. I didn't know how to pick someone back up- it was always Bella.

"It'll be okay." I grabbed her hand lightly squeezing it. "I know it sucks like hell right now, but it'll get better."

"When?" She asked. Her voice got scratchy so I knew that she was holding back tears.

"I wish I knew."

* * *

It was silent for a while between Bella and I before she got up from my bed to go make dinner. I sighed as I looked forward. I wasn't sure what I was going to do to help her, I really just wanted her to tell me what to do. But I wasn't even sure she knew what needed to be done to help herself. I got up from my bed before walking outside of my room. I glanced at Charlie sitting on the couch watching the game before walking upstairs. I felt like I needed a warm shower to try and clear my head.

The shower didn't last long, but it helped my muscles relax some. I wrapped myself in a bath towel before throwing some sweats on that I brought in. I left my tank top on, not really caring about how I looked. Dinner was done when I went downstairs. Bella and Charlie were just starting to dig into the steak and potatoes when I walked into the kitchen. I quickly grabbed my own plate before joining them in silence.

I couldn't say that it was an awkward silence, but it definitely didn't feel right for us all to be so quiet. I cleared my throat before looking at my dad, "How's work?"

Dad looked up surprised that someone was talking during dinner; leading me to believe it was always quiet between them. "Uh, work is okay."

I nodded my head at his vague answer. "Anything exciting happening in the cop-world?"

"Thankfully, nothing."

I turned to look at Bella, "How's school? Is it any different from Arizona?"

"It's smaller." Bella replied shortly.

"I figured." I coughed lightly at the tense atmosphere. "That's it?"

Bella shrugged her shoulders, "I guess. It's school."

I sighed when I realized that was it for our dinner conversation. I quietly finished my meal before excusing myself to my room. I wasn't used to having such a quiet dinner. Mom and Phil would always talk about their day when we ate and if there was some sort of game on, we would watch it- that's when we would thankfully order take-out. I climbed into my bed suddenly tired of the odd atmosphere going on in the house. Hopefully it would all lift up soon.


	3. Old Friends

**Thank you all that favorites and follows this story, and of course thank you for the reviews. I love you all already!**

* * *

Waking up in the morning has proved to be more difficult than I predicted.

Bella's constant screaming during the night kept me up, leaving me with no sleep. Never-the-less, I still got up at 9 o'clock sharp to get ready for the day. The easiest part of my mornings are taking a shower and getting dressed; I figured that out quick. Yesterday was spent mostly by myself since dad was at work and Bella was at school- not that when Bella _was_ home it felt like I was any less alone. Apparently she had a job at the Newton's hiking shop. Imagine my shock and worry when Bella didn't come home after work. I ended up calling dad frantically before he explained to me that Bella was working until late. If only someone told me, I wouldn't have almost had a heart attack.

I dressed quickly after I was out of the shower and hurried doing my hair. I mostly left it in it's natural wave since it was the only type of curl that my hair seemed to hold for more than a few hours. I did minimal makeup; unlike Bella who seemed to repel anything that had to do with _girly things,_ as she liked to call them. I gave up trying to get her to wear makeup back when we were fourteen. Like I said, she repels it all.

A knock on my bedroom door interrupted me from finishing my mascara. I sighed as I looked between the mirror and the door. I didn't want to get up from my spot and disrupt my me-time; in reality it's just me doing my makeup. "Come in." I shouted towards the door as I resumed finishing up the final touches.

I barely looked up when the door opened, I just continued what I was doing. That is until I felt a presence behind me. I looked up to look at the intruder through the mirror to see Bella watching me silently. If it were anybody else, I would have been unnerved from them watching me do my makeup. Since it was Bella, I didn't think anything of the situation. She used to watch me do my makeup all the time when we lived together in Phoenix. She never liked to wear makeup, but for some reason she found some enjoyment in watching me do my own.

"Yes, Bells?" I gave her a small smile through the mirror before closing the mascara, giving her my full attention. It wasn't that Bella needed the reassurance that I was listening, I just felt like I owed her my attention since she was the one that was hurting. Call it sister-intuition.

"I'm going to head out for the day, and I was wondering if you wanted to join." Another thing I learned from just a couple days: I had to really listen to what Bella was saying. She almost mumbled everything under her breath like she was scared of speaking louder.

"Yeah," I nodded my head with a smile. "Where are we heading?"

Bella looked behind her to the open door, "I'll tell you in the truck."

I didn't know why she was being hush-hush about where we were going, but I just nodded my head. I trusted that it wouldn't be something stupid or reckless. "Yeah, okay." I nodded my head as I got up from my seat at my mirror. "I just need to slip on my boots then we can go?" She nodded her head in confirmation.

I grabbed my tan Timberland work boots and my North Face sweat shirt because I knew that it was getting colder outside- not that it was ever not cold here. "Okay, ready to go."

We walked into the den to see dad getting ready to leave for work. He looked up once we both entered the room and Bella reached forward to grab her jacket off the couch. "Where are you two heading today?" He looked at me but I just silently shrugged my shoulders and nodded my head towards Bella. He raised his eyebrows before looking at Bella for an answer.

"We're going to the Blacks'." Bella answered, but I could tell she was holding something back. Otherwise she would have just told me we were visiting the Black's household today instead of saying she'll tell me in the truck. "I want to visit Jacob. I haven't seen him in months and I figured that Jules would like to come with me."

I could tell that it surprised dad to see Bella wanting to go out and do something, but he smiled brightly at her anyways. "That's a great idea, Bells."

"Can you write down the directions?" Bella asked slipping a pad of paper and a pen towards him. He nodded his head still smiling as he began to write down the directions, explaining whilst he did so.

* * *

It was silent between Bella and I for the majority of the drive towards La Push, but once the sign telling us that we were in La Push territory came into view I began to speak up, "So are you going to tell me the real reason that we are visiting the Black's?"

She bit her lip as we left the question out in the open. "You'll see when we get there." She glanced over to me carefully before flicking her eyes back to the road. I pursed my lips as I let the answer slide.

I didn't really mind visiting the Black household. I've missed Billy and Jacob- hell, I've even missed the twins, Rachel and Rebecca. Billy was always like an extended family member, always treating me like one of his kids; and I've always looked up to him. He really stepped up, being both the mother and father to his kids, even while he was in the wheelchair. I've admired his strength as much as I've admired my dads'.

As soon as I saw it, I recognized the small cottage as the Blacks' house. I remembered bits and pieces of it from my childhood. The house all together was familiar from it's wooden exterior, with it's dull red paint, to the narrow windows. It had an overall homey atmosphere. The corner of my eye catch the movement of one of the shades moving in the window, meaning that someone in the house knew we were here- not that the sound of the truck didn't tell you otherwise. Bella explained to me that dad had bought the truck for her homecoming gift from Billy himself, so they were bound to know the sound of their old truck.

I barely made it out of the truck when a teenage boy come barreling out of the house, "Bella!" I watched with mild curiosity as Bella's face lite up, even if it was just a fraction of a smile. Neither one of them payed any attention as I stepped out of the truck, closing the door behind me.

This boy was tall, with a strong build to his body. Toned arms were wrapped around my sister's waist as he picked her up off the ground with a chuckle. His sleek black hair was long down his back, close in length to my own. His natural native skin glowed even in the cloudy forecast. "Hey, Jacob!" Bella said enthusiastically, the first real smile I've seen on her all weekend. I was shocked that this was the same chubby-faced boy we used to make mud pies with when we were younger.

They both stepped away from each other with matching ecstatic smiles. "You grew again!" Bella stated as she looked up at him from our 5'4" height. He was definitely a foot taller than both of us, which I never would have expected since Billy was only about 5'10" standing up.  
Jacob laughed, somehow making his smile even brighter. I was almost jealous that his smile was so white and pretty, it definitely made me insecure about my smile. "Six five." He answered quite proudly.

I stepped closer to Bella, making both of their eyes turn to me. Bella grinned as she turned to talk to Jacob, "You remember Julianne, my twin, right?" I wasn't sure why, but I was almost hopeful that he would remember me. Almost like if he didn't remember me, I would be extremely disappointed.

"It's just Jules, or Julie." I said smiling at my childhood friend.

"Of course!" Jacob smiled down at me before pulling me in for a side hug- not as showy as his and Bella's hug and somehow I was disappointed. _Knock it off, Jules, he hasn't seen you since you were thirteen,_ I mentally slapped myself as I slipped out from underneath Jacob's arm. "You both grew into two different people. "Can hardly call you twins." Jacob joked.

"Well, we can hardly call you Jacob anymore." I said waving my hand, as if it was going to emphasis the fact that he didn't look like himself.

"Call me Jake." He smiled down at me. He waved his hand towards the house, "Come inside. You're both getting all wet."

He led the way inside, pulling up the heap of hair into a rubber band as he walked. "Hey dad!" He called out walking into the small cottage house. "Look who stopped by."

Billy looked just like I remembered him to. The same long black hair, just like his children. The same stone expression that made you intimated to meet him, until you actually got him talking. He was respected throughout the small town. The only difference was that he has gotten more wrinkles, making him look much wiser past his years. "Well, what do you know!" He smiled glancing at Bella first since she was directly behind Jacob. "It's good to see you, Bella."

Bella stepped up to shake his hand, and I almost laughed at the comparison in not only size but color. He made pale-Bella look like the living dead.

Once Bella stepped back to Jacob's side, Billy locked eyes with me. "Julianne?"

"I go by Jules, or Julie now." I smiled down at the elder.

"Of course." Billy gave me a chuckle before opening up his arms. "Come'ere." I happily reached down to give Billy a hug. I was almost afraid that he wouldn't recognize me, as I was with Jacob. "My, you've grown up well." He commented as we broke apart from the hug.

"And you," I said taking a step back. "Still look like you did when I was younger." I gave him a joking wink as he laughed.

"I knew there was a reason why I liked you." Billy chuckled. "What brings you both out here? Everything okay with Charlie?" His expression twisted into one of concern.

"Yes, absolutely." Bella said reassuring him quickly. "I just want to see Jacob- I haven't seen him in forever. I also knew that Jules would love to come visit." I smiled when both sets of eyes turn to me at the mention of my name. Though, Jacob looked to be thrilled that Bella said she missed him.

"Can you stay for dinner?" Billy asked eagerly. Either it was because he had company or because he was happy Bella and I were here, I wasn't sure.

"No, we've got to feed Charlie. After all these years, he hasn't learned how to cook a simple dinner." I joked making Billy and Jacob laugh lightly.

"I'll call him now," Billy waved off me off with a smile. "He's always invited."

I opened my mouth to tell him that it was a good idea when Bella laughed uncomfortably. I looked over at her in question, but she ignored me. "It's not like you'll never see us again. I promise we'll be back again soon- so much you'll get sick of us."

Billy chuckled letting it go but I wasn't too easy. "Okay, maybe next time." He agreed.

"So, what do you both want to do?" Jacob asked smiling down at the both of us.

"Whatever." Bella shrugged her shoulders, still smiling. I've seen her fake some smiles recently, but this one seemed genuine. There was something about Jacob that made her happy, and I was thankful towards him even if he didn't realize it.

"What were you doing before we interrupted?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest lightly as I relaxed in the familiarity of the house.

Jacob rubbed the back of his neck as he hesitated. "I was just heading out to work on my car, but we can do something else-"

"No, that's perfect." Bella interrupted with an almost forced smile. Jacob didn't seem to notice. "I'd love to see your car." Bella seemed very jumpy today. I suppose I shouldn't complain _too_ much, jumpy-Bella is better than depressed-Bella.

"Okay," Jacob said looking over at me and I just shrugged my shoulders lightly. "It's out back, in the garage." He pointed over his shoulder, pointing to the backyard.

Bella smiled before waving at Billy, "See you later."

"I'll say goodbye before I leave." I promised as I patted Billy on the shoulder. He gripped my hand lightly before nodding his head.

"Go have fun."

* * *

The garage was set further in the property line surrounded by outgrown shrubbery and trees. You could only see bits of the garage from the back porch of the house. The garage wasn't anything special, but it was somehow comfortable. I closed the entrance door behind us before really taking a look around the small space. It looked like a men's cave with dirty rags and car parts scatters across the floor. I kept my eyes on the ground as I made my way over towards Bella and Jacob in the center of the garage.

"What kind of Volkswagen is that?" Bella asked pointing to the car in the middle of the garage. How could I have missed that?

"It's an old Rabbit." Jacob answered.

"1980's, right?" I asked looking at the unique style of the vehicle. I was almost thankful that Phil decided to teach me about cars when I was growing up. It was useful knowledge.

"1986, to be precise." Jake correctly lightly with a laugh. "How'd you guess?"

"Uh, step-dad taught me about cars when I was growing up. Nothing too extreme, just a few basics." I shrugged my shoulders.

Jake looked like he was going to comment further but Bella interrupted, "How's it coming?"

"Almost finished." Jacob smiled proudly. He turned back towards me, "I rebuilt the whole thing from scratch."

I gave him a surprised laugh as I looked down at the _almost_ complete Rabbit. "Seriously?"

"Yup." He nodded his head, obviously holding his head high.  
Bella gave me an unknown gaze, "Jacob," He turned his head to look down at her. "What do you know about motorcycles?" _Why was Bella asking about motorcycles?_

Jacob shrugged, "Some. My friend Embry has a dirt bike. We work on it together sometimes. Why?"

"Well..." Bella bit her lip as she paused, probably weighing her options in her head. Jacob and I stood quietly waiting for Bella to make up her mind. "I recently acquired a couple of bikes, and they're not in the greatest condition. I wonder if you could get them running?"

"Bella!"

Bella, again, bit her lip as she looked at me. "Julie, please don't tell dad."

I just continued looking at her like she was crazy, and I was about 89% positive that she was. "Bella, what made you decide to get _bikes_? You know if dad finds out-"

"He's not going to." Bella shook her head. "Please. For me."

It was my turn to bit my lip. I just shook my head with a sigh. "I was dragged into it and blackmailed."

"Deal." She smiled before turning back to Jacob.

"I'll give it a try." Jacob shrugged his shoulders, not bothered that Bella and I had a disagreement right in front of him. In fact, I don't think his smile looked any brighter than right now. Probably due to the fact that he had a new project to work on now; a new challenge.

"If you couldn't tell from Bella and I's disagreement, you can't tell Billy." I said leaning up against on of the counters in the little space.

"Sure, sure." Jacob agreed easily. "I understand."

"I'll pay you." Bella offered.

Jacob looked almost offended that Bella suggested that she'd pay him. "No. I want to help. You can't pay me." He shook his head looking down at Bella.

She pursed her lips, "How about a trade, then?" Jacob's eyebrows went up in wonder as Bella continued, "I only need one bike- Jules and I can share. And since we'll both need lessons, how about this? I'll give you the other bike, and then you can teach us."

"Who says I need lessons?" I smirked looking over at Bella.

"What? You just got on my case about buying motorcycles and you've ridden one before?" Bella narrowed her eyes at the same time that she put her hands on her hips. It reminded me of times that I got lectured by mom back in Jacksonville.

"I wouldn't be stupid enough to actually buy one, Bella." I laughed.

She huffed but let the conversation go, for now. "So when will you bring them down?" Jacob asked crossing his arms against his chest. The muscles in his arms bulged out and I was momentarily distracted before Bella's voice broke through.

"They're in my truck now." She bit her lip, almost like she was embarrassed to admit it.

"Great."

"Will Billy see if we bring them around?" I asked making sure that we were going to be in the clear.

Jacob laughed as he winked down at me, "We'll be sneaky."

We rushed to try and get the bikes into the garage as quickly as we could, just in case Billy decided to look out the window. Bella was on lookout while I was helping Jacob bring the bikes down from the back of the truck. I was stunned into silence when Jacob easily picked up the bike, almost like it weighed nothing more than 20 lbs.

"These aren't half bad." Jacob nodded his head as we walked them back towards the garage. Jacob had the black one while I was pushing the red one. Bella was on door-duty; opening and closing the door for us. "This one here will actually be worth something when I'm done- it's an old Harley Sprint."

"That one's yours, then." Bella said as she closed the door behind us.

Jacob raised his eyebrow, "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"These are going to take some cash, guys." I said looking down at the rusty parts. I didn't know much about motorcycle parks, but I knew that most of them were going to need to be fixed up, if not replaced all together. "I know I have some money in my savings from my job back in Jacksonville."

"I'll pick up the rest." Bella spoke up before Jacob could offer. "If you're doing this for free, than we'll pay for the parts."

"I don't know..." Jacob looked at both of us.

I shook my head, "It's fine. We both have the money. No worries." I'll just have to think about getting another job soon.

"Alright." Jacob nodded his head. "Well, let's get started."


	4. Changes

Jacob didn't waste any time in pulling the first bike- the red one, which was destined to be Bella and I's- apart immediately. He had explained to us earlier that the bikes would be safe within his garage since Billy wouldn't be able to make the trip with his wheelchair. The ground was too uneven to move out here by himself.

Bella was currently sitting in the passenger seat in Jacob's Rabbit, while I was sitting on a creeper; which I figured out it was a device to move underneath a car easier. We were all happily chatting, my greatest shock was Bella. She actually seemed like she was coming more out of her shell than I've seen her all weekend. She was actually participating in the conversations- even though most of them were Jacob and I updating on our lives. He would talk about how his sophomore year was progressing and I would talk about how school was back in Jacksonville. Currently, he was telling us about his best friends that he hangs out with.

"Quil and Embry?" Bella questioned, picking up the uncommon names. "Those are unusual names."

Jacob chuckled in response, "Quil's a hand-me-down, and I think Embry got named after a soap opera star. I can't say anything, though. They fight dirty if you start on their names- they'll tag team you."

"Sounds like the best of friends." I joked while I nudged Jacob's leg with my boot-clad foot.

"They really are. Just don't mess with their names."

I nodded my head, "Duly noted."

"Jacob?" An echoed sounded from outside of the garage. Bella and I shared a look of worry before turning back to Jacob.

"Is that Billy?"

"No," Jacob ducked his head low almost like he was embarrassed, the red in his cheeks brighter than a few moments prior. "Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear." He mumbled under his breath.

The shouting voice started getting closer, "Jake? Are you out here?"

"Yeah!" Jacob shouted back before sighing and shaking his head lowly. Again, I shared a look with Bella, but this time I was more curious than worried.

It was a short wait until two teenage boys walked into the entrance of the garage. They both had the same sleek black hair, except one had it hung low on his shoulders while the other had a short buzz-cut. They had the same russet colored skin, like most people from the reservation. One was more slender than the lather, and almost the same height as Jacob. While the other, shorter teenager, was more burly- which he seemed to know. His white t-shirt was stretched over his chest, almost like Jacob's grey one. It was hard to believe these boys were only 16 years old.

Both boys seemed surprised to see Bella and I sitting in Jacob's garage. They both stopped short. The taller boy kept switching his eyes between the three of us while the shorter one kept his eyes on me with a growing smile on his face.

"Hey, guys." Jacob greeted easily, almost halfheartedly.

"Hey, Jake." The brawny one said keeping his eyes on me. I gave him a small smile in return which lead him to winking in my direction. "Hi, there."

"Quil, Embry- these are my friends, Bella and Julie." He pointed to each of us when he said our name.

The two boys shared a quick look, almost like they expected that Jacob would say that. The shorter of the two stepped up holding out his hand, "Charlie's kids, right?"  
Bella and him quickly shook hands before I grabbed his hand in greeting. "That's right." Bella confirmed when we ended our hand shake. His hand was strangely warm in this cold weather. Though, he could have been wearing gloves.

"I'm Quil Ateara." He announced pointing to himself with a grand smile.

"Nice to meet you." Bella and I greeted back at the same time.

"Hey, I'm Embry, Embry Call- you probably already figured that out, though." Embry quickly stood forward shaking both Bella and I's hand. He shoved his hand back into his pocket once he stepped back next to Quil.

"Nice to meet you, too."

"So, what are you guys doing?" Quil asked with a suggestive voice. He kept glancing down at me and I shifted slightly on the creeper.

"We are going to fix up these bikes." It was like once Jacob said the magical word _bikes_ , the boys glanced down at the scattered parts on the floor with interest. They both moved closer and started questioning Jacob with words that I couldn't registered. I looked up at Bella with a raised eyebrow.

"I think we need to have a Y-chromosome to really understand." She shook her head, glancing back up at the excited boys. I gave her a genuine laugh as I followed her direction.

After a while, Bella sighed as she slid out of the Rabbit and I knew it was time to start heading back. Since we denied the invitation to invite Charlie over for dinner, we had to go make some for when he gets home.

Jacob looked up from his engrossed conversation to smile apologetically at Bella and I, "We're boring you, aren't we?"

"Nah." Bella shook her head with a small smile. "We just have to go cook dinner for Charlie."

It wasn't a lie that they weren't boring us. I was enjoying myself being in the boys company. It was comforting and homey. I could continue doing it if we didn't need to go back home.

"Oh, well, I'll finish taking these apart tonight and figure out what more we'll need to get started rebuilding them." Jacob wiped his hands on a dirty rag as he stood up. "When do you want to work on them again?"

"How about tomorrow?" I asked knowing that I had nothing to do.

Unbeknownst to Jacob, Quil and Embry exchanged mirror grins.

"That would be great!" Jacob's smile was radiant.

"I have work until 3 o'clock tomorrow, but I can come down after work." Bella shrugged her shoulders agreeing.

"If you make a list, we can go shop for parts until Bella gets out of work. We'll pick you up on the way back to Jake's." I suggested.

Jacob's smile fell as he rubbed the back of his head. "Sounds good, but I'm still not sure I should let you two pay for everything."

Bella and I shook our head in unison making the boys blink at our twin-like actions. "No way. We're bankrolling this party. You just have to supply the labor and expertise."

Embry openly rolled his eyes at Quil, making me laugh quietly. "That doesn't seem right." Jacob shook his head, still not agreeing with us.

"Jake," I sighed placing my hands on my hips. "If we took these to a mechanic, how much would he charge us?"

Jacob smiled down at me before nodding his head, "Okay, okay, you're getting a deal."

"Not to mention the riding lessons." Bella added with an excited smile.

Quil smirked as he turned to whisper something in Embry's ear. I couldn't make out what he said but the fact that Jacob's smile dropped made me think it wasn't something appropriate. Jacob's hand snapped back and smacked the back of Quil's head, "That's it, get out."

I laughed as Bella shook her head, "Now, really, we have to go." Bella grabbed my hand lightly before pulling me towards the door. "We'll see you tomorrow, Jacob."

I laughed again once Quil and Embry's chorus of, "Wooo!" shouted through the garage. Bella just shook her head at the teenagers, but you could see that she was still amused.

"If either of you set so much as one toe on my land tomorrow..." The rest of Jacob's threat was unheard but I could only image what the rest of the sentence was going to be.  
Bella and I jumped into the truck, this time I was the one driving; if we were going to start hanging out with Jacob more often, I'll need to learn which ways to go. It was quiet between Bella and I before she started laughing to herself. I looked over at her in surprise, and I could tell that it even surprised herself.

"What are you laughing at?" I said turning back to the road in front of me.

Instead of answering, Bella just laughed again. I soon joined in, enjoying the fact that my sister was genuinely laughing after months of depression.

* * *

We easily beat Charlie home. When he walked into the house, Bella was just finishing the fried chicken and I was setting up the table. "Hey, dad!" We both called out with matching grins.

He raised his eyebrows as me and him made eye contact, and I knew that he was surprised about Bella genuinely smiling and talking without being spoken to. "Hey." His voice was uncertain, almost on edge so he didn't say something that made Bella go back into depression. "Did you have fun with Jacob?"

Bella started moving the food back onto the table, "Yeah, we did."

"I've missed the Blacks'." I smiled as I sat down in the spot I've pretty much claimed my own.

"Well, that's good." He sat down on his seat. "What did you three do?"

Bella and I shared a look when Charlie wasn't paying attention before I answer, "We watched him work in his garage. Did you know that he was rebuilding a Volkswagen?" I said hoping that I seemed convincing enough to not raise questions.

"Yeah, I think Billy mentioned that."

Bella and I sighed easily once he accepted the answer before relaxing.

Dinner was uneventful through the rest of dinner. Dad would keep his eyes on Bella, probably waiting for her to break down, but she never did. I half expected Bella to go back into her depressive state by the end of the night, but she stayed calm. We didn't really make much conversation, except a few comments when dad was watching a hockey game and Bella was doing her homework.

"It's starting to get late." Charlie sighed before shutting off the TV. "I'm heading to bed."

"Yeah, I'm right behind you." I stretched my limbs as I got up from the couch. Bella didn't say anything, she kept doing her homework on the couch. "Bella?"

"I'll go up soon." She muttered and I didn't question it. She's most likely waiting for the break in her good mood.

"Okay." I nodded before heading to my room. I quickly got out of my dirty clothes before relaxing in my bed. It was probably the most peaceful I've slept since I've left Jacksonville.

* * *

 **Again, thank you for all of you that are reading this story, it really means a lot! Let me know how you feel about this chapter, I'm excited to start writing the next one already!**


	5. Jacob Black

**Chapter Four: Jacob Black**

I woke up feeling more rested than I have all weekend; Bella didn't scream all night. I could tell that it surprised dad when he came down from his room in the morning. We both shared a glance, calculating the situation. "Did you..." He left the question open, knowing that I knew what he was talking about. I just shook my head. He pursed his lips as I sat a coffee down in front of him. "I didn't either."

I didn't get to respond since Bella was walking into the kitchen. I smiled tiredly at her- it was only 8 o'clock in the morning. She didn't seem to have any blue bags underneath of her eyes. Her eyes were more open, more awake- but they were still cautious. The same as last night, like she was waiting for something.

It was quiet in the kitchen because no one knew what to say. It was getting to the point of being tense and awkward. I held out a plate full of breakfast foods with a bright smile, "Eggs?" I could tell both Bella and dad were happy for the break in the silence. I sighed under my breath as Bella grabbed the plate from me. I put less on her plate than I had with mine and dad's, knowing that she wouldn't eat the whole plate otherwise.

"How'd you sleep?" I decided to face the elephant in the room head on. Dad almost seemed to tense as he waited for Bella to answer. I knew that he was afraid of Bella going back into the empty shell that she was used to, but we couldn't keep treating her like she's fragile. Bella was never one to take pity from anybody.

"Good..." Bella muttered. "Better than I have for a while." She muttered under her breath almost like she hoped no one would hear the last part. I let the conversation drop since dad was giving me a certain look. I could only translate it to ' _be careful what you say.'  
_

"What are you two up to today?" Charlie asked changing the subject. The mention of plans today had me get excited for the day. Jacob and I had plans to get parts for the bikes, not that Charlie needed to know that.

"I'm actually going to Jacob's today again until Bella gets out. Then we're gonna pick her up and I'll watch them do homework." I laughed trying to be natural even though I was lying to my dad. I can't say that I've never lied to him, I've just never hid anything like _this_ from him.

Charlie nodded his head, not looking up from a snag in his jacket, "Oh."

"Do you mind?" Bella asked, feigning concern. Bella and I knew that was overjoyed about both of us hanging out with Jacob, especially Bella. "We could stay..."

Dad looked up quickly, "No, no!" He said almost in a panic. "You go ahead. Harry was going to come up to watch the game with me anyways."

"Maybe Harry could give Billy a ride up." Bella suggested, and I held back a grin. Billy out of the house left us with nothing to worry about concerning the bikes.

"That's a great idea." Charlie nodded his head with a ghost of a smile of his face.

Charlie quickly finished his breakfast before hurrying to the phone, probably to call Harry or Billy. I gave Bella a smile as I grabbed the dishes before slipping them in the sink, I'll get to them later tonight.

"Are you ready to go?" Bella asked slipping on her rain jacket. I looked down at my outfit before nodding my head. I quickly grabbed the truck keys before following Bella out of the house.

I almost groaned when I looked at the rain pouring down. I was surprised the roads were completely flooded with how hard it was raining currently. I almost regretted wearing white today. I slipped the hood over my head quickly before diving into the rain, truck keys at the ready. I could feel the laughter build in my throat as I tried to hurry to get the truck unlocked. I managed to hold in my giggles until Bella and I were both out of the rain. She didn't find it as amusing as I did.

The car ride to the Newton's shop was silent, there was no radio to the car- just a blank hole with wires falling out. I was almost tempted to ask Bella about what happened, but for some reason I knew it wasn't the best idea to mention it. I had a feeling it had to do with Edward, and if it did, I didn't want to open those tender wounds.

"3 o'clock, Jacob and I will be here." I shouted out into the rain as Bella ran into work. The only response I got was a quick smile back.

I was sure that I took the wrong turn about three times before I was able to get onto Jacob's street. The rain coming down in buckets didn't do anything for my poor sight. I could barely see the vehicle in front of me, let alone the street signs. When I finally parked in Jacob's driveway, I took a breath of relief. I didn't want to have to call Charlie to figure out how to get back on the right track.

I shut off the truck as Jacob came running out of the house with a black umbrella. I gave him a light smile before throwing my hood back up on top of my head. I jumped out of the truck and under his umbrella, trying to stay as dry as possible. "Charlie called and said you were on the way." Jacob smiled down at me. I swear he got taller since yesterday...

"Thank goodness." I said looking up at his tall frame. "I didn't think to bring an umbrella."

"Good call on inviting Billy up." Jacob held up his hand for a high five, purposely above my 5'4" height. I rolled my eyes as I reached up to slap his hand. He snorted a laugh when I had to step on my toes to reach his hand.

"It was Bella's idea, actually." We started moving into the house away from the mud outside- really shouldn't have worn white.

"I'll have to give her a high five, too." Jacob mentioned opening the front door. I snorted attractively as I followed him inside. I could see the scornful expression on Bella's face when Jacob tries to get her to high five him at his height. It was comical to imagine.

Billy and I shared a brief hug as Harry wheeled him out the door- I didn't even notice that Harry's truck was already here. "It's good to see you, kid." Harry patted my shoulder lightly in greeting. I smiled brightly back at him, giving him the same response.

We waited until we saw Harry drive off down the road before getting to business. I jumped onto his bed lightly, "Where to first?" I asked after he was finished giving me a small tour to his room. It was anything special, not that I expected much out of a 16 year old teenage boy. It had the essentials; a bed, a dresser, a closet, and some car magazines laying around the room. It was a little messy, but nothing unmanageable.

Jacob sat down, much softer than I did, next to me as he pulled out a piece of paper with a list, his messy handwriting all over the white sheet. "We should start at the dump first, see if we can get lucky." He hesitated, "This could get a little expensive." He tried to warn me.

I grabbed the list out of his hand and looked down. It was true that the list was long. I was tempted to ask if this included both bikes, or if we need to double it because both bikes needed it. I knew that if I asked that, he would try to offer money, and Bella and I have already got the funds taken care of.

"I'm talking about more than a hundred dollars here." Jacob continued, trying to coax me into letting him help pay.

I pulled out my wallet to show him my debit card with a smile- I had Bella transfer money into my account last night after dinner while Charlie was watching the game. "We're covered." I said confidently.

I handed Jacob back the list as he sighed. "Speaking of covered, maybe you should wear different shoes." Jacob got up from his bed as he pointed down to my white sneakers.

I held back the blush as I realized that he was right. "Do you think we have time to stop at my house?" I asked as I got up from the bed, standing in front of him.

He laughed, "No need. You can borrow a pair of Rachel's old rain boots." He nodded his head over his shoulder, silently telling me to follow him. I did without any complaint.

He pulled a pair of black rubber boots from the closet, "Hopefully these fit you alright." Jacob shrugged his shoulders. "She used to wear them when she still lived here."

I grabbed them and sat on the couch to try them on. Luckily, they were a perfect fit. I smiled up at Jacob as I placed my white sneakers down near the front door. "Thank you. I don't know if I would have survived if I got my sneakers all muddy." I joked as Jacob opened the front door. It wasn't raining as hard as it was when I first arrived. It was just starting to drizzle now.

"I wouldn't have let you die because of sneakers." Jacob poked my shoulder jokingly.

"Ha." I rolled my eyes sarcastically before following Jacob outside. Even though it wasn't pouring anymore, I still placed my hood on top of my head. My hair has the ability to get frizzy when it gets humid. I rather try to skip that.

Jacob jumped into the truck after I did. I smiled over in his direction, "Which way?"

* * *

It was almost surprising how natural it was to joke with Jacob. I knew that he was someone that I could hang out with from yesterday's hangout, but I didn't think that I would be laughing as much as I did today. Even when the mud splashed all over the bottom of my pants, and the rain randomly pouring down on us, I don't think I could have spent my day any better.

The way that Jacob seemed to make the best out of any situation was my favorite thing about him. He was a generally happy person. I don't think I could imagine a frown on his face. It was like he had his own sort of gravitational pull towards him that made people want to be around him. He was warm.

"Run." Jacob laughed as we tried to miss another downfall of rain. "Come on, Jules." He gripped my hand lightly before running under a couple trees that were closest to us.

I was barely able to stand on my own as I felt laughter escape my mouth. It was hard not to genuinely laugh with him. It was the kind of laugh that escaped you without notice; the loud, chest laugh. "Maybe we should have checked the weather for the day." I managed to choke out through my laughter.

Jacob laughed along with me, "Come on, I think it's slowing."

We kept stopping every few feet, only running from our shelter when we thought it was slow enough. My sweatshirt was sopping wet, but I couldn't find it in me to care. I know I'll care when I somehow get sick later on, but I know that I won't regret it. "Almost there." I laughed trying to make my voice louder than the rain. It was slamming down on the metal canopy that we were under, making it seem almost thunderous.

"Give me the keys, I'll run and unlock the car." Jacob said holding out his wet hand.

"No, we can run together." I smiled a wet smile at him. I'm sure that I looked like a hot mess with my hair matted to my hair, heavy with rain. I just hoped my makeup stayed on alright, though I'm sure I look like a raccoon.

Jacob looked down at me, almost like he was contemplating if he should let me get wetter than I was already, but I was wet already. No more harm could be done. I didn't give him any time to argue as I gripped Jacob's warm hand in mine and started running towards the truck.

"You're crazy." Jacob laughed out loud, making the sound vibrate through the truck. We had both just jumped into the truck with water falling onto the seats.

I shrugged my shoulders with a permanent smile graced on my face, "Live a little."

* * *

According to Jacob, we did very well at the junkyard. He tried to explain to me what each part was and why it was used, but I kept laughing at his excitement. It was like a little kid in a candy shop. His smile only brightened the more he talked about each greased up part.

It was about the time that Bella was getting out of work, so we decided to stop there on the way to the next place for parts. It didn't take long before Bella jumped into the truck- I let her drive as I scooted down next to Jacob. "How'd you make out?" Bella asked as she drove down towards Checker Auto Parts in Hoquiam. It was going to be about a two hour drive, so I relaxed against my seat.

"We made out well." Jacob smiled brightly. "We just have a few more parts that we need."

Bella held out her checkbook from her pocket, "We're covered." She repeated my words from earlier making Jacob and I laugh. Bella raised her eyebrows at the both of us, but we didn't bother explaining our laughter.

The time passed easily with Jacob as a passenger. He kept Bella and I entertained, I almost didn't realize how far we've been driving. He talked more about his friends and his adventures. "I'm doing all the talking." He complained lightly after finishing a story about Quil and his troubles. Apparently, he asked out some senior's steady girlfriend and Jacob, plus Embry, had to try to hold back the senior from beating the hell out of the poor kid. Totally misunderstanding.

"Why don't you two take a turn?" Jacob offered. "What's going on in Forks? It has to be more exciting than La Push."

"Wrong." Bella sighed. I let her answer the question since I've only been in Forks for a couple days. "There's nothing really. Your friends are a lot more interesting than mine."

"I like your friends." I answered truthfully. "Quil's funny."

Jacob frowned and it was completely wrong on his face. "I think Quil likes you both, too."

"He's a little young for me." I gave Jacob a laugh but he only frowned further.

"He's not that much younger than you. It's just a year and a few months."

I bit my lip as I thought about what he said. I didn't want to assume anything, but it didn't sound like he was talking about just Quil anymore.

Bella understood my discomfort as she stepped in, "Sure, but, considering the difference in maturity between guys and girls, don't you have to count that in dog years? What does that make us, about twelve years older?"

Jacob laughed at what Bella said, letting the tension die back down. "Okay, but if you're going to get pick like that, you have to average in size, too. You're both so small, I'll have to knock ten years off your total."

"Five foot four is perfectly average," I snorted humorlessly. "It's not our fault you're a freak."

We continued our banter for the rest of the road trip to Hoquiam, trying to win points to make ourselves seem older. Bella lost two years, while I gained two, since she had lack of knowledge to changing tires. Though she gained back a year since she was the bookkeeper at the house, while I lost one. Just like in real life, Bella and I's age in our banter was the same at twenty-seven years old; Jacob just being a year under us.

We only stopped our competition when Jacob became concentrated at Checker's shop. We managed to find the rest of the parts on his list, with the help of a very _helpful_ associate. I didn't miss the narrowed gaze that Jacob gave the 20-something year old that tried to help but Bella and I find whatever we needed.

Jacob felt confident in the parts that we collected today, so we started to head back towards La Push, continuing our small competition about age.

* * *

By the time that we reached La Push, Bella was twenty-three, I was twenty-nine, and Jacob was thirty. Bella called favoritism on Jacob since I was a year under him, but he just smirked and subtracted another year from Bella for childish acts.

Billy wasn't back from the game yet, so we didn't need to worry about bringing the parts into the garage. We evenly spread out everything on top of Jacob's counters in the shed. Jacob immediately started getting to work, expertly weaving his fingers around each piece, knowing exactly where they went and how they went back together. It was crazy watching him work. I had subconsciously moved closer to watch him work, while Bella was sitting in the same spot she did yesterday; inside the passenger side of Jacob's Rabbit. I never really liked to watch Phil work on his car when I lived in Jacksonville, but somehow Jacob captivated my attention. Maybe it was the way that he was still chatting effortlessly while he worked on each piece. Or maybe it was the way the veins in his arms moved frequently with each push and pull of the wrench; the way his muscles moved softly underneath his black t-shirt.

The rest of the day went by too quickly for my taste. The sun started to set behind the trees when we heard Billy's voice calling for us. Bella jumped up from the vehicle before waving her hands around, not knowing what to do. I laughed as I sat up with Jacob from the ground- even though Jacob offered me the bucket to sit on.

"Just leave it." Jacob said. "I'll work on it later tonight."

"Don't forget your schoolwork or anything." Bella said with a guilty voice.

I laughed, "Yeah, especially since I told dad that you both would be working on homework tonight."

All of our heads snapped up with Charlie's voice sounded through the trees and bushes, "Girls?" He sounded a lot closer than he would have if he was at the house.

"Shoot." Bella muttered, "Coming!"

"Let's go." Jacob smiled. He shut the light off quicker than I was expecting, so when I tried to follow him out of the shed, I was blind for a moment. I felt a rough hand grab mine before pulling me outside.

He easily found the path back towards the house, leading me to believe that he's been out in the shed past dark multiple times. The uneven ground made it hard to move across steadily and rushed. All three of us kept tripping over our feet as we tried making it to the house without falling into the mud.

When the house came into view, we were all still laughing. I doubt that Jacob would have noticed, but Bella's laugh didn't sound right. It sounded like she wasn't sure she was supposed to be laughing. Her body wasn't used to laughing.

Charlie was standing under the little porch in the back waiting for us to make an appearance, while Billy was sitting in the doorway behind him.

"Hey, dad." All three of us said at the same time, leading us into laughter again.

Charlie stared wide-eyed at Bella's laughter before he gained control over his emotions. He didn't happen to miss that Jacob's large hand was still around mine, and I can't say that I really minded.

"Billy invited us for dinner." Dad said trying to figure out what got into the three of us.

"My super secret recipe for spaghetti. Handed down for generations." Billy smirked down at us.

Jacob snorted, "I don't think Ragu's actually been around that long."

The small little farm house was crowded with people. Harry Clearwater and his family, his wife Sue and two children Leah and Seth, had come over for dinner too. I barely remembered Leah or Seth, but I remembered Sue from a couple fishing trips during the summers. They were vague memories since I was younger, but I gave Sue a hello-hug nevertheless. Sue helped me remember her children a little, explaining a few memories back when. Leah was a senior, like Bella and I, but a year older. She had beautiful black hair that flowed around her shoulders. Her face was much like her mothers, exotically beautiful. Seth was fourteen, and clearly idolized Jacob. He practically hung onto every word that Jacob muttered.

The kitchen table was way too small for the bunch of us, so Charlie and Harry brought chairs outside to the yard. We all ate our dinners from our laps, in a circle. All that was missing was a little fire in the middle.

The boys talked about the game that was on today, and talked about some future fishing plans that they needed to make. Jacob, Seth, Bella, and I mostly tried staying in our own conversation. It was confusing at times when everyone got too loud, and talked over each other. The other conversation would laugh over the other, making it hard to hear what exactly everyone was talking about. It was all a bunch of jumbled up words.

Since I was sitting next to Jacob, whenever I stretched in my seat, my hand would brush up against his arm. I apologized the first couple of times before he told me not to worry about it. Inside, I rather enjoyed the feel of our contact.

I don't know where any of these feelings came from. I shook my thoughts, just playing it off as a friend thing. I've never felt so natural with any friends, it must just be how comfortable I am around Jacob.

I should have figured that our little pow-wow would have ruined by the most unavoidable thing in Washington; rain. Since the party didn't have anywhere to go, because we couldn't all comfortably fit in Billy's living room, we all had to go home. Harry had driven Charlie down from Forks, so we all squeezed into the truck on the way back- I was driving this time.

Charlie asked a bunch of questions about what we did today, still being cautious about what questions he asked, and how far to ask them. We answered as much as the truth as we could; we went to get parts with Jacob and watched him work in the garage. He doesn't need to know that it was actually bikes that Jacob was fixing, instead of his Rabbit.

I didn't realize how tired I was when I got to the house. The driving all day was sure to take enough energy out of me. I quickly jumped into the shower before anyone else could beat me to it. I took my time in getting cleaned, getting rid of all the dirt and mud. It wasn't until Bella knocked on the door, telling me to hurry up, that I jumped out of the shower. I wrapped the big, fluffy towel around my body before smiling sheepishly at Bella. She rolled my eyes, but kept her mouth shut. She knows how I was in showers.

I quickly ran into my room, I didn't need my dad seeing me in a towel. It didn't take long before I got changed and jumped into bed.

My phone started vibrating on my bedside table. I grabbed it without looking at the caller I.D. "Hello?"

"Hey." The familiar deep voice greeted on the other side. I felt a smile move onto my face as I heard his voice.

"What's up, Jacob?" I asked leaning against my bedpost.

"I was just wondering something, but I realized it was stupid." I could practically hear the blush in his voice. "I was going to hang up but you answered before I could."

I laughed at his confession, "What is it, Jacob?"

"Why do you call me that?"

"Is that your question?"

"No," He laughed along with me. "Just curious."

"Because I like your full name, now continue." I felt my neck heat up with embarrassment. I felt like I didn't have control over what I said around this boy. He could ask me my family's deepest secret and I would probably tell him.

"When are you coming down next?" He finally asked.

I laughed into the receiving end, "See you tomorrow, Jacob." I ended the phone call, and the rest of the night with a smile resting on my face.

I was so happy about what happened today, I almost forgot that I had school the next morning.

* * *

 **Thank you all who reviewed my last chapter. I can't thank you guys for your kind words. I hope to hear more from this chapter. I'm pretty happy with it, it shows Jules and Jacob's relationship growing :)**

 **Also thank you to all the quiet readers, the ones that favorite and follow this story. You're just as important too. So thank you.**

 **Let me know how you think of this story. Question of the DAY: Which do you see? A struggling relationship between Jules or Jacob or an easy one from the beginning. Let me know what you guys think. I'd love to hear from you guys!**


	6. Reputation

**Chapter Five: Reputation**

It was hopeful thinking that Bella's nightmares would stay away for two days in a row.

A muffled scream sounded throughout the house. I felt my heart drop at the sudden noise before jumping out of bed. I relaxed slightly in my panic, realizing that it was Bella. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as I looked at the clock next to my bed; 2:43 a.m. If I woke up to these screams, Dad must be up, too. I grabbed my cardigan and slipped it on my shoulders before making my way upstairs. The screaming had stopped, meaning that either Dad woke Bella up, or the dream stopped. I'm more willing to put money on the former.

I peaked into Bella's room once I made it upstairs to see Bella's face shoved into her pillow, her body was shaking like she couldn't control it. I sighed as I slipped into her room, leaving her door open a crack. If I wanted to get any sleep for school tomorrow, I needed to help Bella. I shook her shoulder lightly, trying to wake her up as softly as I could.

I felt her body jolt underneath my hand before Bella looked up at me from her pillow. She didn't question why I was in her room, waking her up, she already knew the answer. She pushed over in her small full sized bed, giving me space to slip in. I climbed underneath her blanket softly before turning to face her. "You okay?" I asked quietly, blinking the darkness away from my tired eyes.  
She nodded her head.

I reached out and grabbed her cold hand between mine and squeezed lightly, effectively letting her know that I was there. "Get some sleep, Bells," She nodded her head, again, before shutting her eyes and falling back asleep instantly. I turned onto my back and tried getting comfortable in the small bed.

To say that I didn't have the best night's sleep would be the understatement of the century. I kept waking up every hour with Bella's quiet whimpers in my ear. I didn't blame Bella; I didn't blame the small bed, that had me clinging to the edge so I didn't fall off the side. I did, however, blame the person that did this to her- Edward. I'm not completely sure what happened between the two of them, I don't know how close they actually were. I just knew the aftermath of whatever he did. I wish I could give him a piece of my mind.

After slipping some concealer on, to hide my obvious dark shadows under my eyes, I walked out of my room to get some breakfast. I could feel the first-day-of-school jitters running through my body, leading me to ignore the pot with warm coffee on the counter. I don't think caffeine would really do my shaking fingers any good.

"Good morning, Jules." I looked over my shoulder to see Dad coming around the corner from the stairs; uniform for work already on.

"Morning." I tried to hold back my yawn, but it made its way out of my mouth anyways. "Regular coffee?"

"Yes, please." He sat down in his chair at the table as I got his coffee ready for him. He cleared his throat lightly in the silence before speaking up, "Thank you for, uh, staying with Bella last night." I placed his coffee in front of him as he continued, "I got up right as you were making your way into her bed."

"It's no problem." I shrugged my shoulders as I leaned against the kitchen counter. "We used to do that when we were little and the other had a nightmare. It's just something that we are used to." He nodded his head but didn't say anything more about it; he was a man of few words.

It was quiet during breakfast, but it was especially quiet when Bella had made her way down to the kitchen to eat her usual cereal. Dad kept watching, waiting for Bella to crack. I tried not to kept an eye on her, I knew how she felt about people staring; about people worrying about her. I couldn't help the few glances that I stole when I was sure Bella wasn't paying attention. She didn't look as awake as she had been over the weekend, but she didn't look like a total ghost either. It was somewhere in between.

"You ready for school?" Dad asked looking over at me.

I bit my lip as my nerves came back- I was so focused on Bella that I totally forgot about my anxiety about school. "Yeah." I nodded my head slowly. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"You'll be okay." He patted my head lightly, trying to give me some form of comfort. I accepted his attempt with a smile that I was sure looked more like a grimace. "I'm heading out, I'm working a little late tonight. Don't worry too much about dinner."

"Okay," Bella and I answered at the same time, reminding dad that we were, indeed, twins. He shook his head at our antics before turning and leaving for work.

"Ready to go?" I placed my dish in the sink as I asked the question. I turned my head in time to see Bella nodding. I grabbed my bag from the counter and my jacket from the back of the chair before following Bella out the door.

Again, I could feel my fingers start to shake in anxiety, but I tried to hold it back. It was just another school. I went to a school that was, at least, 3 times the size of Forks High. I didn't have any reason to be so nervous.

We pulled into the school parking lot faster than I would have liked us to. I looked around at the half-full lot; everyone was either standing outside their cars in groups, or they were starting to head into the school to miss the light drizzle falling from the trees from last night's rain. I was right about Jacksonville's high school being 3 times the size. The school itself was small, and I hardly doubted that we had more than 400 students in the whole building. That made my anxiety drop just a smidgen, though my hands were still clammy.

Bella pulled up to a separate building with bold white lettering over the top of the door that said, 'Main Office.'

"I'll wait out here," Bella announced as I grabbed my bag from the floor of the truck.

I gave her a nervous nod as I made my way to the door. The, almost too-warm, air hit my face as I opened the door to the office. A woman with deep, red hair sat behind the tall desk in the middle of the room. The name on the plate informed me that this was Mrs. Cope. She turned her hazel eyes up as I walked closer to the desk. "Can I help you?" I almost cringed at her tone of voice, as my stress went back up a level.

"Yeah, um... I'm new here. My name is Julianne Swan, I'm supposed to be getting my schedule today." Hopefully, dad called like he was supposed to.

The recognition in her eyes told me that he did. "Of course," She gave me a welcoming smile before looking through some folders on her desk. "Alright," She handed me some papers with my name printed at the top, "This is your schedule, it has a map of the school printed on the back in case you get lost. This purple paper is for the teachers to sign. You just return the paper back to me at the end of the day." She quickly explained the rest of the papers in the manila folder before handing it to me. "Welcome to Forks High, I hope you have a good day."

I gave her a quick smile as I turned to leave the stuffy room. The cool air was refreshing while I walked back to Bella's truck. I jumped into the passenger seat with a sigh.

"What classes do you have?" Bella asked quietly. I silently gave her my times-table, letting her look it over. "We have Biology, Spanish, and Gym together." She handed me my schedule back with the faintest of smiles. I was just glad I wasn't completely alone all day.

The rest of the morning with Bella was pretty silent. We both allowed the other to be absorbed into their thoughts. I couldn't tell you what I spent the last ten minutes thinking about. I just kept on staring at people passing, wondering how my day was about to go. By the time that Bella and I were starting to head into the school, it started raining lightly outside. I slipped my hood over my head to try and kept the frizz out of my hair. I knew that the attempt was pointless but it was the thought that counted, right?

Bella and I split up after I promised to see her in class. I had no trouble at all finding my locker, but I did have trouble trying to open it correctly. The top kept on getting stuck, metal against metal. I was able to wedge my hand far enough in the locker that the rest opened without any other complications. I tried straightening the metal at the top as much as I could before shoving the books that I didn't need into the empty locker. I glanced down at my schedule to see that I had Calculus with Mr. Varner in room B34. I glanced at the closest room to see I was next to B50. Hopefully, these classrooms go in numeric order.

I slipped my schedule into my back pocket before going in the direction that I thought was B34.

I tried to ignore the stares that people were giving me, but the back of my neck tingled with each stare from behind me. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. They weren't glaring, like some part of my subconscious thought they were going to. They all seemed curious, no doubt the last new student was my sister. I doubted that most of them knew that there were two Swan daughters, instead of just one.

I made my way to Mr. Varner's classroom without any trouble. I walked in after a group of girls, giggling at something unheard. The classroom was about half-full with students talking to one another. I looked at the desk in the front of the room to see a middle-aged man, writing on his notepad in front of him. Mr. Varner had slight greying hair with a round face; wrinkles decorating his eyes and forehead.

I cleared my throat lightly to try and get his attention. He looked up at me just as the bell for class rang. I barely took notice to the rest of the students filling up the seats behind me.

"You must be Julianne Swan," he said, standing up from his seat.

"Julie," I corrected.

He nodded his head, before taking the purple slip from my outstretched hand. "Of course." He handed my slip back before waving his hand to the class. "Please, introduce yourself."

I knew that I should have expected this from at least some of my teachers, but deep inside I was hoping it wouldn't be my first class. I turned to look at the rest of the class, whose eyes were already on me like hawks. I felt a jolt of anxiety as I couldn't help but think of myself as prey to them.

"My name is Julianne Swan, but I prefer Jules, or Julie," I started. "I am twin sisters with Bella Swan. I just recently moved down here from Jacksonville, Florida," I paused because I wasn't sure what else to say.

"Thank you, Jules. You may take your seat," Mr. Varner said pointing to the only empty seat in the room.

I nodded my head gratefully before taking the empty seat. It was right next to a blond teenage boy, who had bluer eyes than Florida's waters. He was staring at me with a bright smile; I tried matching his enthusiasm but I was sure that I looked like I was in pain.

As soon as I sat down in my seat, Mr. Varner started class, not giving the boy next to me the chance to introduce himself. Which I was surprisingly okay with.

I effortlessly took notes, listening Mr. Varner go over the same lecture that I had back in Jacksonville. I was sure that most of the classes were going to be as easy as this, since I knew Jacksonville's system was faster than most.

The bell to end class rang faster than I originally thought it would. I stuffed my books into my bag before standing up. The blond teen was waiting for me to notice him with a smile. "Jules, right?" he asked, even though I just introduced myself not even an hour ago.

I nodded my head, "yeah."

"My name is Mike Newton, I'm friends with your sister," he said, holding out his hand for me to shake. I did silently. "What class do you have next?"

I silently looked down at my schedule that I was gripping tightly in my hand before answering, "Spanish with Mr. Tanner."

"My classroom is right next door," he smiled brightly. "Would you like me to walk you down?"

I contemplated in telling him 'no', but I wasn't really looking forward to getting lost looking for my next class. "Sure," I nodded. With that simple answer, Mike practically radiated with joy.

Mike asked pretty standard questions. Where did you move from? What do you think of Forks? How was the school back in Florida? I didn't expect anything less since I knew that people were going to be curious with the new girl; the Swan twin that they weren't aware of.

"This is your Spanish class," Mike said, stopping the interrogation. "You should sit with me and my friends at lunch. Bella used to sit with us before..." The sentence cut off but I knew where he was going with it.

"I should really sit with Bella," I bit my lip.

"Of course," he nodded, a smile once again on his face. "No problem. I'll see you around."

He left to go to his classroom, and I didn't waste another moment before I escaped into mine. He was nice, but he was overbearing. I looked around the classroom and sighed with relief once I saw Bella sitting in the far corner. She met eye contact with me, trying to lift up her mouth in a smile. I appreciated the effort, so I smiled back.

"You must be Julianne," Mr. Tanner said, making me look back towards the front of the room. "I'm Mr. Tanner, I'll be your Spanish teacher for the remainder of the year." He grabbed a spear book from the corner of his desk. "This is your book. You may take a seat anywhere. I hope you can keep up."

I smiled my thanks before taking the book from his hands. I handed him my purple slip, which he signed quickly, before making my way to the corner that Bella was sitting in. There were empty desks surrounding her, which made me think that no one wanted to sit next to her, because of her lack of emotions. I stole the seat on her right and tried to get comfortable, or as comfortable as I could get with all the staring from the class. I could tell that even Bella was starting to get uncomfortable with the stares. She leaned over towards my desk, "I was just starting to get used to no one staring, too," she whispered, hoping that no one would hear her.

I stifled my laughter in my hand as Mr. Tanner started teaching the class.

No one bothered us in Spanish for the whole hour. Maybe because they didn't want to have to talk to Bella also, or maybe because they were too worried that I would be just like her. Either way, it made me want to have Bella on my side for the remainder of the school day. I wouldn't have to worry about anyone trying to talk to me.

But alas, the silence had to come to an end. After Bella and I split up, Mike joined me in walking to my class, much like he did with Spanish; except this time another boy named Tyler Crowley joined him. They both bombarded me with questions during passing period. It took a lot of resistance to not ask them to leave me alone, but I didn't want to seem rude so I kept my mouth shut, and answered their curious questions.

I suffered through the first couple of periods before lunch came around. I followed Mike into lunch, him still chatting excitedly about going surfing down in La Push. I agreed halfheartedly, trying to get excited with him, but my focus was on finding Bella. Imagine Mike and I's surprise when Bella was sitting at the table Mike said was his friends. He smiled brightly, thinking that Bella was finally coming out of her shell. "She's been sitting at the old Cullen's table ever since they left," he explained before we were in ear shot of the table.

I bit my lip as I sat down next to Bella, silently asking if she was okay. She nodded her head back at me before looking at a girl with glasses resting on her nose. I recognized her as a girl that was in my English class, but I couldn't put a name to her face.

"We drove up north, almost to the hot springs- there's a good spot just about a mile up the trail. But, when we were halfway there... we saw _something_ ," she explained. I was totally lost in the conversation, but I did get interested in her story.

"Saw something?" A girl with a pixie cut asked. "What?"

"I don't know," the girl from my class said. "We think it was a bear. It was black, anyway, but it seemed...too big."

The girl with a pixie cut snorted. "Oh, not you, too!" Her green eyes turned mocking. "Tyler tried to sell me that one last week."

"You're not going to see any bears that close to the resort," a girl that I recognized at Jessica Stanley said, rolling her eyes.

"Really," the girl protested, "we did see it."

"No, she's right." I looked curiously at Bella, surprised that she decided to speak up. "We had a hiker in just yesterday who saw the bear, too, Angela." That's what the girl with glasses' name was. "He said it was huge and black and just outside of town, didn't he, Mike?"

Mike looked just as surprised that Bella was speaking to them as I was. Of course, I didn't see how Bella acted for the first four months, but I've heard stories of how bad she was. Everyone was in shock, and no body moved. It was like a zombie has risen from the dead.

"Mike?" Bella's cheeks were turning a pinkish color, a color that I haven't seen since she lived with me, mom, and Phil. "Remember the guy with the bear story?"

"S-sure," Mike stuttered, trying to contain his composure. "Yeah, there was a guy who said he saw a huge black bear right at the trailhead- bigger than a grizzly."

The girl with a pixie cut huffed, and turned to start talking to Jessica. I saw Angela and Mike smile at Bella, which she was fast to return, even though only one side of her mouth turned up in a smile.

"So, what did you do this weekend, Bella, Jules?" Mike asked.

Everyone, again, stopped their own conversation to look at Bella and I.

"Friday night, Jessica and I went to a movie in Port Angeles. And then me and Jules spent Saturday afternoon and most of Sunday down at La Push," Bella answered.

Everybody's eyes flickered towards Jessica and then back towards Bella. Jessica looked almost irritated, but I wasn't completely sure why.

"So, you have been in La Push," Mike pointed out, looking at me jokingly.

"So, I have," I joked back.

"What movie did you see?" Mike asked, looking back at Bella, with a beginning of a smile.

" _Dead End_ \- the one with the zombies." Bella grinned back at Mike.

"I heard that was scary. Did you think so?"

"Bella had to leave at the end, she was so freaked," Jessica said with a sly grin.

"It was pretty scary," Bella admitted with a nod of her head.

Bella and Mike continued their conversation til the end of lunch, while I started chatting up with Angela. She was really sweet, and wasn't too overbearing with the questions that she was asking. I could tell that me and her were going to get along well.

At the end of lunch, Mike, Bella, Angela, and I walked together towards our next class. Bella and Angela were having a soft conversation as Mike raved about going to see _Dead End_. Apparently, Bella and Jessica seeing the movie got him more excited to see it.

I looked back at Bella when I heard her hum in thought. "What's today's date?"

"It's January nineteenth," I answered, while Mike ran up to join Jessica, and the girl with the pixie hair, whose name was Lauren, Angela informed me.

"What is it?" Angela asked as Bella hummed again.

"It was a year ago yesterday that I had my first day here," Bella mused.

"Nothing's changed much," Angela muttered, looking up at Lauren and Jessica.

"I know," Bella agreed. "I was just thinking the same thing."

"Ironic that my first day is so close to yours," I joked, trying to lighten up the mood.

It worked as Angela laughed, and Bella offered me a smile at my lame joke. I would gladly take that over her silence.

* * *

 **Thank you to all the people that favorited and followed this story, plus the people that left reviews! They always make my day. Sorry for the long delay on this chapter, and that not a lot of things happened but it's just the beginning of the story, everything will start heating up, I promise.**

 **Let me know how you like this chapter, I always love hearing from all of you! With love, Cheyenne.**


End file.
